Rainey Dawn
I don't understand why this film was added to the Dark Crimes 50-film pack -- it's not a "dark crime" film. This film is a kinda cute castaway production... it's sometimes dramatic and other times it's comedy.This is a basic story of a plane going down and the survivors are near an island to seek refuge there and hoping a rescue ship will come nearby. The difference is there is a doctor criminal on the island with his helper Ping. This doctor criminal has a boat and it's up to him if he wants them to use it or not.As I said earlier, the film seesaws from drama to comedy from scene to scene which is something I've seen before in the older films. This is one okay - nothing to brag about.The only bonus to this film is a cameo appearance from Dwight Frye right at the very beginning of the film.3/10
GManfred
Sinners in Paradise was next up in my DVD set.Featuring an intriguing cast and the inimitable James Whale as director, I thought it might be worth a good look.But no. This Adventure/Morality Play gets off to a good start,but quickly bogs down into a clichéd potboiler which is neither compelling or suspenseful. The Disparate-Characters-Stranded-on-a-Desert-Island fizzles out almost as soon as they hit the island. Comic relief is forced and unfunny and all characters are painted in extremely broad strokes.The best part of the film is the interesting cast which is comprised of B and lesser A actors. Madge Evans is lovely and John Boles is dashing and manly. Gene Lockhart and Bruce Cabot might have deleted this one from their film credits, as it does them no credit.I guess it fills out the boxed set but it wasn't worth the trouble.
Hitchcoc
While there are a few amusing moments in this film, the odd mixture of characters who find themselves awash on an Island in the Pacific really don't have much chemistry. They are mostly wrapped up in their own egos and forced to do some work or they will never see home again. There is a strange Chinese man, loyal to his master, who is incredibly confusing. He has this goofy laugh that comes at odd times. It grates on the brain. There are bad guys and windbags and loose women and a nice woman. There is an islander who can't go to China because he is wanted for a murder there. He has the only boat and navigation skills to get the people off the island. Everyone stays true to their colors and it rolls toward a predictable conclusion. I found Gene Lockart's politician to be utterly insufferable. They should have drowned him right away.
secragt
Watchable for the group of familiar 40s character actors, but after a reasonable crash sequence, this movie quickly loses its bearings. It's hard not to see some similarities to GILLIGAN'S ISLAND and LOST, but the awkward mix of on-the-nose comedy and drama never quite works. Lots of story lines, none of which really come together. The sequence at sea in the second half is the last momentarily interesting section, but it's quickly jettisoned like so much flotsam. Ending is particularly sudden and illogical.SPOILERS AHOY If the ship was unable to reach landfall the first time, how come everyone assumes they will easily be rescued on the second attempt? It seems more likely that everyone (including the soon-to-be-married main couple) will die given the arduous passage of the first unsuccessful attempt. Or, perhaps I missed something obvious because my attention drifted away long before the sudden and seemingly tacked-on denouement? Either way, if you choose to partake of this doomed flight, you have no one but yourself to blame.
AD
